Edson Buddle

College and Minor-League Career

Born in New Rochelle, New York, Buddle played one year of college soccer at State Fair Community College, leading them to the 1999 NJCAA Division I National Championship which was later vacated due to using an illegal player. Buddle began his professional career in 2000, when he signed with Long Island Rough Riders of the A-League. Buddle helped the team win the Northeast Division, scoring eleven goals and four assists, and was a finalist for the A-League Rookie of the Year Award.

Columbus Crew

His performance in the A-League attracted the interest of MLS, and Edson was selected twenty-seventh overall in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by Columbus Crew. Buddle played only 556 minutes in his first year, but scored three goals and two assists. The next year, at the age of twenty-one, he scored nine goals and five assists in only 1304 minutes while helping the Crew to a U.S. Open Cup win. Plagued by injuries, he only started sixteen games the next year, but scored nine goals and four assists. The pattern repeated itself in 2004, as Buddle missed significant time to injury, but still scored eleven goals and two assists in twenty starts. His 2005 totals were nine goals and two assists.

New York Red Bulls

Before the 2006 season Buddle was traded to New York Red Bulls for Eddie Gaven and Chris Leitch. He had a disappointing year in his tenure with the team only scoring six goals because he was battling a foot injury. On November…

Although he may have been a promising player for the United States national team, Buddle's injuries have made it difficult for him to break into the squad. He figured for the under-20 and under-23 teams, playing in the 2001 World Youth Championship with the former. Buddle earned his first senior team cap on March 29, 2003, in a friendly against Venezuela but would not see the field for the United States again for seven years. On May 11, 2010, he was named to the preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and on May 25, started in a 4–2 friendly loss to the Czech Republic. The following day, Buddle was named to the final squad. Buddle contributed two first-half goals in a friendly match versus Australia on June 5. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup he appeared as a substitute in matches against England and Algeria.

Club

International

As of December 15, 2014.

International goals

Buddle is named after Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé. His father, Winston Buddle, a former professional soccer player born in Jamaica, chose the name. Buddle attended Port Chester High School in Westchester County, New York.